It is becoming an increasing trend for us to demand food that is healthy, convenient to create and also tasty enough that the whole family will devour a plate and maybe even ask for seconds. This seems like a lot to ask out of just one meal, let alone a whole cookbook, but don’t believe anyone who tells you that you can’t have it all - slow cooking is here!
Those who are short on time, perhaps a little apprehensive about roasting a large and expensive cut of meat or really just unsure of how to get that fall-off-the-bone tenderness every single time can have the solution in Olivia Andrews’ cookbook, Whole Food Slow Cooked. If you aren’t convinced investing in a slow cooker is necessary just yet, that’s not a problem - Olivia provides alternative methods for creating delicious dishes like healthy Lentils with Chard, Dill and Feta either on the stove top or in the oven. Once your confidence builds in the slow cooking method, Olivia provides advice on how to go about choosing a slow cooker too.
Summer food entails quick salads, fun barbecues and icy desserts, but when the weather turns cold, we crave thick soups, heavy stews, tangy laksa, spicy curries and maybe a few sneaky baked treats when no-one is looking. What we really want are meals that fight off the dreaded flu and ensure we receive optimal nutrition from every bite.
Olivia provides 100 tried and tested recipes for exactly this and many more sumptuous meals that nearly cook themselves. With just a little preparation and guidance from Olivia, you can come home after a day out to your home smelling absolutely delicious with the aromas of a tantalising dish like Pork and Prawn Pozole ready to serve as soon as you walk through the door, every night of the week.
Quinoa and Chia Porridge p. 188.
Avoid the devilish after-work snack that goes hand-in-hand with rushing home to prepare a meal on the spot with these flexible alternatives that are so tasty, you may forget you ever cooked any other way. This method of preparing meals can also prove more economical – an important factor for larger families, or those simply on a strict budget. Slow cooking gives you a chance to make the most of cheaper cuts of meat as the time it takes to cook them ensues they are just as tender as premium purchases.
Start with Olivia’s instructional tips on how to keep you and your slow cooker safe before pouring over pages filled with family favourites, soups, stews and casseroles, braises, curries and even a chapter dedicated to meat-free meals. Find your favourite meal in a section suited to slow weekends including nutrient-dense breakfasts like Quinoa and Chia Porridge and treat yourself and your family to a dessert or two from a chapter of sweet things.
Whole Food Slow Cooked teaches how cooking whole, unprocessed foods is the perfect way to make healthy, home-cooked food with maximum flavour and minimum fuss - you really can have it all.
